Sign up to receive free email alerts when patent applications with chosen keywords are publishedSIGN UP

Abstract:

A method and apparatus for displaying a menu. The method includes
displaying a menu page including menu items on a menu region of a
display; allocating an information region on a portion of the menu
region; dividing and reconfiguring the menu page in units of small pages
according to a size of a reduced menu region caused by a simultaneous
display of the information region and the menu page; and displaying the
reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu region.

Claims:

1. A method of displaying a menu, the method comprising: displaying a
menu page including menu items on a menu region of a display; allocating
an information region on a portion of the menu region; dividing and
reconfiguring the menu page in units of small pages according to a size
of a reduced menu region caused by a simultaneous display of the
information region and the menu page; and displaying the reconfigured
menu page on the reduced menu region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the menu items displayed on the
reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu region maintain sizes and
alignments of the menu items as originally displayed on the menu page of
the menu region of the display.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating and displaying page
indicator information that indicates a number of reconfigured menu pages.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the page indicator information further
includes information identifying a menu page currently being displayed on
the reduced menu region.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising changing the menu pages
divided in units of the small pages, if a page change input is received.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, when a half of the menu region is
allocated as the information region, dividing and reconfiguring the menu
page comprises: dividing the menu page in half; displaying an upper
portion of the menu page on the reduced menu region; and storing a lower
portion of the menu page as a next reduced menu page.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying a doubled number
of page indicators indicating a number of reconfigured menu pages.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the information region
includes a region for inputting a search condition for searching a menu,
re-aligning the menu items in the reduced menu region according to an
input search condition.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: selecting a menu item in
the reduced menu region; and executing an application corresponding to
the selected menu item on the information region.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded
thereon a computer program for executing a method of displaying a menu,
the method comprising: displaying a menu page including menu items on a
menu region of a display; allocating an information region on a portion
of the menu region; dividing and reconfiguring the menu page in units of
small pages according to a size of a reduced menu region caused by a
simultaneous display of the information region and the menu page; and
displaying the reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu region.

11. An apparatus for displaying a menu, the apparatus comprising: a
display unit for displaying a menu page including menu items; and a
control unit for allocating an information region on a portion of a menu
region for displaying the menu page, dividing and reconfiguring the menu
page in units of small pages according to a size of a reduced menu region
caused by a simultaneous display of the information region and the menu
page, and displaying the reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu
region.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the menu items displayed on the
reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu region maintain sizes and
alignments of the menu items as originally displayed on the menu page of
the menu region of the display.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control unit updates and
displays page indicator information that indicates a number of
reconfigured menu pages.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the page indicator information
further comprises information indicating a menu page currently being
displayed on the reduced menu region.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising an input unit for
receiving an input.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the control unit changes the menu
pages divided in the units of the small pages when a page change input is
received by the input unit.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, if a menu item in the reduced
menu region is selected by the input unit, the control unit executes an
application corresponding to the selected menu item on the information
region.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein, if a half of the menu region is
allocated as the information region, the control unit divides the menu
page in half, displays an upper portion of the menu page on the reduced
menu region, and stores a lower portion of the menu page as a next
reduced menu page.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the control unit displays a
doubled number of page indicators indicating a number of reconfigured
menu pages.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein, if the information region
includes a region for inputting a search condition for searching a menu,
the control unit re-aligns the menu items in the reduced menu region
according to an input search condition.

Description:

PRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0069167, which was filed in the
Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 16, 2010, the entire
disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates generally to a menu display, and more
particularly, to a method and apparatus for displaying a menu for
executing an application stored in a mobile device.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] It is common for a mobile device to display menu pages on which
menu icons for executing the applications are aligned. Also, a touch
screen is often used as an input device of the mobile device.

[0006] Normally, when a menu page is initially displayed over an entire
display screen and then a portion of the screen is to be used to display
information other than menu information of the menu page, in order to
simultaneously display the menu page and the other information, the
display area for displaying the menu page is reduced.

[0008] Referring to FIG. 1, when a menu region 110 displaying a menu page
including menu items corresponding to twenty four applications is
displayed, and then other information is to be simultaneously displayed,
the menu region 110 is divided to generate an information region 120 and
a reduced menu region 130. The menu page is then re-displayed on the
reduced menu region 130, and the twenty four menu items included in the
menu page are reduced in size and are realigned on the reduced menu
region 130. However, because the twenty four menu items are reduced in
size in order to fit within reduced menu region 130, visibility is
reduced and a touch error frequency increases when a user selects a menu
item on a touch screen. Also, because positions of some of the menu items
change, the user may find using the resized menu to be confusing.

[0009] Referring to FIG. 2, when a menu region 210 displaying a menu page
including menu items corresponding to twenty four applications is
displayed, and then other information is to be simultaneously displayed,
the menu region 210 is divided to generate an information region 220 and
a reduced menu region 230. The twenty four menu items included in the
menu region 210 are realigned on the reduced menu region 230. Therefore,
although the menu items are realigned without a changing in size, due to
the lack of display space, the menu items are repositioned to overlap
each other, the user may still find to be confusing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Accordingly, the present invention has been designed to solve the
above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and provide at least
the advantages described below.

[0011] According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of
displaying a menu is provided. The method includes displaying a menu page
including menu items on a menu region of a display; allocating an
information region on a portion of the menu region; dividing and
reconfiguring the menu page in units of small pages according to a size
of a reduced menu region caused by a simultaneous display of the
allocated information region and the menu page; and displaying the
reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu region.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus
for displaying a menu is provided. The apparatus includes a display unit
for displaying a menu page including menu items; and a control unit for
allocating an information region on a portion of a menu region for
displaying the menu page, dividing and reconfiguring the menu page in
units of small pages according to a size of a reduced menu region caused
by a simultaneous display of the information region and menu page, and
displaying the reconfigured menu page on the reduced menu region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the
present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:

[0015]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for displaying
a menu, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying a menu,
according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIGS. 5A through 5C illustrate display screen images for displaying
and using a menu page on a reduced menu region, according to an
embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate display screen images for changing menu
pages on an original menu region and a reduced menu region, according to
an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 7 illustrates display screen images for using a menu search
application, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0020]FIG. 8 illustrates a display screen image for selecting a menu item
on a reduced menu region, according to an embodiment of the present
invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Various embodiments of the present invention will be described in
detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This
present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be
thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention
to those skilled in the art.

[0022]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for displaying
a menu, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 3, the apparatus 300 includes a display unit 310
for displaying a menu page including menu items, an input unit 330 for
receiving an input from a user, and a control unit 320 for controlling an
output to the display unit 310. The control unit 320 allocates an
information region for displaying information other than menu information
of the menu page on a portion of a menu region for displaying the menu
page, e.g., according to the input received by the input unit 330, and
then divides, reconfigures, and displays the menu page in units of small
pages according to the size of a reduced menu region caused by the
simultaneous display of the information region and the menu page. For
example, the display unit 310 and the input unit 330 may be realized as a
touch screen capable of sensing generation and a location of a touch
within a display region.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of displaying a menu,
according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 4, in step 410, an information region for
displaying information other than information of a menu page including a
plurality of menu items is allocated on a portion of a menu region for
displaying the menu page. For example, a menu item may be realized as an
icon, and is selected to execute a corresponding application. The menu
region is divided into regions, i.e., the information region for
displaying the other information and a reduced menu region for displaying
the menu page. For example, the other information may be, but is not
limited to, information regarding a certain application.

[0026] Step 410 may be performed according to a request of a user that is
received by the input unit 330.

[0027] Because a portion of the menu region is allocated as the
information region, the menu region for displaying the menu page is
reduced. In order to display the menu page on the reduced menu region, in
step 420, the menu page is divided and reconfigured in units of small
pages that are smaller than the menu page according to the size of the
reduced menu region. The reconfigured menu page is displayed on the
reduced menu region in step 430. The menu items displayed on the reduced
menu region maintain their respective shape, size, and alignment, as in
the original menu page.

[0028] FIGS. 5A through 5C illustrate display screen images for displaying
and using a menu page on a reduced menu region, according to an
embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 5A, a menu page 510 including menu items
corresponding to twenty applications including a first application App1
is displayed on the screen. Shaded portions 512 are empty portions having
no menu item, and may be formed according to manipulation of a user. Page
indicator information 520 indicating the number of usable menu pages and
also indicating a currently displayed menu page is displayed on a bottom
portion of the screen. In FIG. 5A, because four page indicators are
displayed and a first page indicator is displayed differently from the
other page indicators, it is shown that a total of four menu pages are
usable and, from among the four menu pages, a first menu page is
currently being displayed.

[0030] Referring to FIG. 5B, the original menu screen displaying the menu
page 510 of FIG. 5A is divided in half, creating an information region
530 for displaying information other than menu and a reduced menu region
540. The original menu page 510 is divided and reconfigured, and a first
menu page of the reconfigured menu page is displayed on the reduced menu
region 540. Specifically, in FIG. 5B, the first through eleventh
applications App1 through App11 displayed on an upper portion of the
original menu page 510 are displayed on the reduced menu region 540, and
as illustrated in FIG. 5c, the twelfth through twentieth applications
App12 through App20 displayed on a lower portion of the original menu
page 510 are determined as a next menu page. The sizes and positions of
the menu items included in the reduced menu region 540 are constantly
maintained from those of the original menu items. The portion having no
menu item is also constantly maintained. Further, the page indicator
information 520 is updated and displayed to indicate information
regarding the reconfigured menu page numbers. Because the number of menu
pages is doubled, the number of page indicators is also doubled into
eight.

[0031] In addition, every two pages indicators are displayed as a pair in
order to indicate that one menu page is divided into two menu pages, and
it is indicated that the first menu page from among the eight menu pages
is currently being displayed.

[0032] As indicated above, FIG. 5c illustrates that a page change input is
received on the reduced menu region 540, and the reduced menu region 540
is changed to the next menu page including the twelfth through twentieth
applications App12 through App20. That is, the user may search a menu on
the reduced menu region 540 while the information region 530 is open. For
example, the page change input may be, but is not limited to, a flick of
a finger on the screen. The next menu page displayed on the screen due to
the page change input is the same as the lower portion of the original
menu page 510 illustrated in FIG. 5A.

[0033] As described above, even when a menu region is divided and is
reduced, because only the number of menu pages is increased and
configurations, e.g., sizes, shapes, and alignments, of menu items are
constantly maintained, a user may manipulate a menu without confusion. If
the information region 530 is closed on the screens illustrated in FIG.
5B or 5C, the original screen illustrated in FIG. 5A may then be
restored.

[0034] FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate display screen images for changing menu
pages on an original menu region and a reduced menu region, according to
an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 6A, the screen includes an indicator 601 for
displaying, for example, battery information of a device, a global ticker
602 for displaying recent information or recommendation information of
applications, a menu region for displaying a first menu page 610
including menu items, and page indicator information 600 for displaying
information regarding menu pages displayed on the menu region. If a flick
input 611 for moving to a next menu page is input, i.e., a press and drag
to the left, a second menu page 620 is displayed on the menu region, and
the page indicator information 600 is updated and displayed to indicate
that the second menu page 620 is displayed. If a flick input 612 for
moving to a previous menu page is received, i.e., a press and drag to the
right, the first menu page 610 is displayed again.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 6B, if a flick input 613 for moving the global
ticker 602 downward is received, a global channel 640 for showing the
information displayed on the global ticker 602 in detail appears, and the
original menu region is reduced. The global channel 640 is an example of
an information region for displaying information other than menu items in
the menu page 610. The original menu page 610 is divided and reconfigured
into upper and lower portions, and a first menu page 650 from among
reconfigured menu pages is displayed on the reduced menu region. The
number of page indicators is doubled and the page indicator information
600 is updated and displayed to indicate that the first menu page 650
from among eight menu pages is currently being displayed. The first menu
page 650 may be manipulated while viewing the information displayed on
the global channel 640. That is, if a leftward flick input 614 for moving
to a next menu page is received on the first menu page 650, a second menu
page 660 from among the reconfigured menu pages is displayed and the page
indicator information 600 is correspondingly updated. If another leftward
flick input 615 for moving to a next menu page is received again on the
second menu page 660, a third menu page 670 from among the reconfigured
menu pages is displayed and the page indicator information 600 is
correspondingly updated.

[0037]FIG. 7 illustrates display screen images for using a menu search
application, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 7, the screen includes an indicator 701 for
displaying, for example, battery information of a device, a global ticker
702 for displaying recent information or recommendation information of
applications, a menu region for displaying a menu page 710 including menu
items, and page indicator information 700 for displaying information
regarding menu pages displayed on the menu region. If an upward flick
input 711 is received from a bottom of the screen, the menu region is
divided in two and a keyboard interface 730 for inputting text appears on
a lower portion of the screen. As such, the menu region is reduced, the
menu page 710 is reconfigured into a menu page 720 having a smaller size,
and the page indicator information 700 is correspondingly updated. The
keyboard interface 730 is used to input a search condition for searching
a menu. If the search condition is input, the menu items are realigned
according to the input search condition. For example, if "S" is input as
the search condition, menu items that start with the letter "S" are
displayed above the other menu items. The current embodiment is an
example implemented based on correlations between a reduced menu region
and an information region, which are generated by dividing an original
menu region.

[0039]FIG. 8 illustrates a display screen image for selecting a menu item
on a reduced menu region, according to an embodiment of the present
invention. Specifically, FIG. 8 illustrates an example implemented based
on correlations between a reduced menu region and an information region,
which are generated by dividing an original menu region.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 8, the screen includes an indicator 801 for
displaying, for example, battery information of a device, a global ticker
802 for displaying recent information or recommendation information of
applications, a global channel region 810 newly allocated by moving the
global ticker 802 downward, a menu region 820 reduced due to the
allocation of the global channel region 810, and page indicator
information 800 for displaying information regarding menu pages displayed
on the reduced menu region 820. If a user input for selecting a certain
application 821 is received or dragging of the certain application 821
upward to the global channel region 810 occurs on the screen, a remote
controller function for executing the certain application 821 on the
global channel region 810 is performed. For example, in FIG. 8, a
YouTube® icon is selected and dragged into the global channel region
810, such that a YouTube® video is displayed on the global channel
region 810.

[0041] Additionally, the present invention can also be embodied as
computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The
computer readable recording medium is any data storage device that can
store data, which can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples
of the computer readable recording medium include a Read-Only Memory
(ROM), a Random-Access Memory (RAM), a Compact Disc (CD)-ROM, magnetic
tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage device. The computer
readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled
computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and
executed in a distributed fashion.

[0042] While the present invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in
form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit
and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims and
their equivalents.